Tom Zoellner

Tom Zoellner is an editor-at-large at LARB and a professor of English at Chapman University. He is the author of eight nonfiction books, including The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire (2006), Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World (2009), The National Road: Dispatches From a Changing America (2020), Rim to River: Looking into the Heart of Arizona (2023), and Island on Fire: The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire, which won the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for the Bancroft Prize in history.

Articles

Cupcakes and Crotch Kicks: On Alex Belth’s “What Makes Sammy Jr. Run?”
Tom Zoellner considers the eternal game of cat and mouse between celebrities and journalists in Alex Belth’s “What Makes Sammy Jr. Run? Classic...
Tom ZoellnerJun 24
Dubious Dam: A Conversation with Erika Marie Bsumek
Tom Zoellner talks to Erika Marie Bsumek about one of the worst boondoggles in the Southwest, which she explores in her recent book “The Foundations...
Tom ZoellnerFeb 11
- History
- Nonfiction
Sands of an Hourglass: On Geoff Nicholson’s “Walking on Thin Air”
Tom Zoellner reviews Geoff Nicholson’s “Walking on Thin Air: A Life’s Journey in 99 Steps.”
Tom ZoellnerFeb 6
- Memoir
Leaving Your Lane: A Conversation with Lydia Otero
Tom Zoellner talks to Lydia Otero about her new account of a young adulthood in Los Angeles, “L.A. Interchanges: A Brown & Queer Archival Memoir”
Tom ZoellnerNov 13, 2023
- History
- Memoir
The Gravitas of the South: A Conversation with Pete Candler
Tom Zoellner talks to Pete Candler about his new book “The Road to Unforgetting: Detours in the American South, 1997–2022.”
Tom ZoellnerApr 28, 2023
- Art
Darkness of Hearts: On Anjan Sundaram’s “Breakup”
Tom Zoellner reviews Anjan Sundaram’s “Breakup: A Marriage in Wartime.”
Tom ZoellnerApr 14, 2023
- Politics and Economics
Play Me Some Mountain Music: On Emily Hilliard’s “Making Our Future”
Tom Zoellner reviews Emily Hilliard’s “Making Our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia.”
Tom ZoellnerMar 20, 2023
- History
Republicans and the Purple Crayon: How to Fix Partisan Gerrymandering in Wisconsin and Elsewhere
Tom Zoellner seeks a way forward from gerrymandering.
Tom ZoellnerFeb 22, 2023
- Politics and Economics
“Which Stranger Are You?”: On Gregg Mitman’s “Empire of Rubber: Firestone’s Scramble for Land and Power in Liberia”
Tom Zoellner reviews the new book by Gregg Mitman, "Empire of Rubber: Firestone’s Scramble for Land and Power in Liberia."
Tom ZoellnerApr 28, 2022
- History
Roads to Everywhere
Two books reveal the hidden lives of Los Angeles thoroughfares.
Tom ZoellnerMar 11, 2022
- History
A State of Unwholesome Fermentation: On William J. Bernstein’s “The Delusions of Crowds”
A neurological and historical comparison of mass panics and euphorias.
Tom ZoellnerDec 5, 2021
- Politics and Economics
“Nation-Building Is No Mean Task”: A Conversation with Khin Zaw Win
A prominent scholar and dissident speaks out about Myanmar’s military rule.
Tom Zoellner, Aida BaghernejadOct 25, 2021
- Translation